Creating Unique Photo Effects with Topaz

When it comes to post-processing, my goal is usually to enhance a photo’s best qualities while maintaining a natural look. After all, nature is stunning just as it is!

But sometimes I want to take my images a bit further; I want to go beyond the natural look, maybe add a painterly effect, some texture or colour grading. That’s when I turn to the plugins from Topaz Labs in my post-processing workflow to create a unique style.

Below you’ll find a video demonstration showing how I combine the plugins and other techniques I use to create unique effects with my photos.

But I rarely just pick a preset and go with it. Most often I use the plugins in conjunction with Photoshop and use layers, layer masks, blend modes and opacity adjustments to define exactly how much of the effect I want and precisely where in the image I want it.

This is the technique I used when I processed these sea anemone photos I made on Cannon Beach, Oregon. With their soft flowing tentacles and bright contrasting colours, they were perfect subjects for adding a few extra special effects to give them a really unique look.

In the photo above, I used Topaz Glow with the effect called “Dizzy”. But I didn’t just apply the effect and call it done. Instead I applied it to a layer in Photoshop, used the Overlay blend mode, reduced the opacity to 55%, and then painted the effect only where I wanted it, which was on the tentacles.

I think the best way to approach post-processing is to use it to bring out the best in a photo, rather than thinking of it as a way to fix something. In the photo above, I loved the way the sand looked floating on the water above the anemone. It was so colourful! For this image I used an effect in Topaz Studio called “Stained Glass” and applied it only to the sand to bring out that quality.

The effect in the photo above is a little less subtle than the previous examples. I used Topaz Impression with a painterly effect called “Van Gogh” to add soft brush strokes and again I only applied the effect to the tentacles.

A little less subtle again, for the photo above I used Topaz Impression with an effect called “Georgia O’Keefe”. This time I applied the effect at 80% opacity to virtually the entire image, only removing it a bit on the anemones in the background and the column of the main subject.

The image above was the most complicated edit since I used Topaz ReMask to make a complex selection allowing me to remove an unwanted rock from behind some of the tentacles. I then used Topaz Impression with an effect called “Liquid Lines” followed by Topaz Texture Effects with an effect called “Lilac Tinge”. I applied both of those effects at a lower opacity and painted on exactly where I wanted it rather than applying it to the whole image.

By combining the various plugins and defining exactly how I want them to be in my images, I can create very unique effects that are not possible simply by picking a preset.

I created this video to share my process with you so you can see exactly how I go about creating these effects.

Coupon Code for Topaz Labs

If you want to try out some of these techniques, I recommend you download the free software called Topaz Studio. It contains some adjustments you can use for free and is also a host program for *some* of the paid plugins. This is a great option if you don’t have any other post-processing software and you are looking for something free to use.

Then you can also get trial versions of the plugins and try them out for 30 days and see if you like them.

Understanding the various software options available at Topaz is a bit confusing since some of the plugins work within a single interface called Topaz Studio and some of the plugins are not part of Topaz Studio. I believe they are trying to move all the plugins to work within Studio eventually.

But don’t worry about that too much. Just choose the plugins you want to try and they’ll either open as part of Studio or they’ll open on their own, it doesn’t really matter. Either way, you can use them in conjunction with Lightroom, Photoshop, or as stand-alone products.

Comments

Hi Anne,
I just wanted to let you know how much I have enjoyed and also learn a lot over the past year or so watching your Youtube channel and postings. I love your style and thought process. I just wanted to let you know that I appreciate your efforts. I do mostly surfing photography and landscapes along with portraits. I work the west coast in the spring and the fall from Baja to BC. My dog Shadow and I travel in a Tacoma pickup with a pop up camper that suits us just fine. Please keep up the great work,
Michael and Shadow

Hi Michael and Shadow 🙂
Thank you so much for your kind comments! I haven’t been doing the videos all that long so I really appreciate the feedback.

Oh, how I would loooooove to do surf photography. I can only imagine how challenging that must be though! You must be either sitting on a surfboard or swimming and with the underwater housing and all that? Trying not to get run over by the surfers? It must be a lot of fun but a lot of work at the same time. Good for you!

Downloaded Topaz to give it a try Anne. I downloaded a few plugin’s, although trying to go through their process to add them to Photoshop didn’t go as planned. Ran out of time, so I may try again later. 90% of the time I use Luminar or Aurora, but I’m always apt to learning something new, and I love the images and your ‘effects’ you did here.
Always enjoy your newsletters and stories that you and Ray pass on to us, as I see Ray has been a busy fellow the last while. Enjoy your trip, and I look forward to seeing some of your images when you choose to share them!

Hey Dale, Is this your way of saying that Ray is more timely than me? haha. It’s true, he’s always putting out photos he just made and I’m putting out photos that are months or maybe even a year old. I’ve tried to keep up, but my images just seem to need to simmer before I’m ready to process them.

One thing when you are installing plugins is to make sure all your other photo software like Lightroom and Photoshop are closed and then everything usually works perfectly. If they are open though, sometimes the plugin feature doesn’t happen automatically. You can always uninstall it, close all your programs, and then re-install it.

Thanks Stephen, I’m glad you enjoyed the video. Yes, Topaz ReMask is a real time saver – making selections is so much easier. It’s not something I use every day, but when you really want to get rid of an object in a photo, it works wonders. Thanks for your visit and comments!

Hi Anne,
I just need a photo processing software that’s relatively simple to start with as I have date I say thousands of photos I have to go through, after I get a new computer. Windows 7 is going to be no longer supported in days now. I’d like to start simple and learn more on the way. Thanks Anne.

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I’m Anne. This is my new life.

I traded in a traditional career for a new life as an outdoor photographer and writer. I live in an RV and travel around North America photographing beautiful places. I write about travel, photography, and how changing your life is not as scary as it seems. Read More…

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